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Labor Day

An old custom prohibits the wearing of white after Labor Day. The custom is rooted in nothing more than popular fashion etiquette. In actuality, the etiquette originally stated that white shoes were the taboo while white or "winter white" clothes were acceptable. This custom is fading from popularity as it continues to be questioned and challenged, particularly by leaders in the fashion world. "Fashion magazines are jumping on this growing trend, calling people who 'dare' to wear white after Labor Day innovative, creative, and bold. Slowly but surely, white is beginning to break free from its box, and is becoming acceptable to wear whenever one pleases. This etiquette is also compared to the Canadian fashion rule of not wearing green after Rememberance day."

The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the first ever Category Five Hurricane on record to hit the United States. The Labor Day Hurricane held the distinction of being the only Category Five storm to hit the United States coastline for 34 years until Hurricane Camille roared ashore in August, 1969. Nevertheless, the Labor Day Hurricane still does hold the distinction of being the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the United States of America. Forming on August 29th, 1935, the Labor Day Hurricane was only the second named storm of the 1935 season. The season was a fairly quiet one with only six named storms for the entire year.

The Labor Day Hurricane, which was the longest lasting storm of 1935 with a duration of 13 days, was a very small storm, on the order of Hurricane Andrew, which also had a similar path. Andrew moved just to the north of the Labor Day Hurricane's track when both storms were near Florida while the Labor Day Hurricane hooked to the north much sooner than Andrew did. The storm actually made two landfalls, both in Florida. The other landfall was in the area of the Big Bend region of Florida, where it came ashore as a Category Two Hurricane according to records from the NHC archives. Another interesting fact about the Labor Day Hurricane was how long it maintained hurricane strength. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was still a Category One Hurricane over a week after striking the Keys when it was beyond the Canadian Maritimes, and heading into the much colder waters of the North Atlantic.

The Labor Day Hurricane and Hurricane Andrew share some striking similarities. As mentioned earlier, both were small storms in terms of their size. They both made two separate landfalls along the coast although Andrew went farther west before turning north, and still maintained major hurricane strength when it came ashore a second time in Louisiana. The Labor Day Hurricane and Hurricane Andrew were both Category Five Hurricanes, and two of the only three such storms to strike the United States although Andrew didn't become one until it was upgraded for its tenth anniversary in 2002. As previously indicated, both had similar paths through the Bahamas and South Florida although Andrew came directly across South Florida while the Labor Day Hurricane of '35 headed a bit to the Southwest before turning up into the Keys from the Southeast. They both created a firestorm of political controversy much like the 2005 crop of storms did. The similarities don't end there as they were both among the first of their season's storms, and powerful hurricanes in seasons that weren't very active.

Only a mere tropical cyclone entering the Labor Day Weekend in September, 1935, the Labor Day Hurricane rapidly intensified to the most intense hurricane on record at that time. Winds were as high as 200 mph with barometric pressure readings of 26.35 inches of Hg (Mercury). The Labor Day Hurricane was so powerful that it single-handedly destroyed the Overseas Railroad.